Movie: Spirited Away

written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli

This is a really cool film about a young girl who has to rescue her parents after their greed and folly ends up getting them into a tight spot: they are turned into pigs. I think this story is very well designed. Some of the best stories contain role reversals. Usually, the parents look after the child and make sure they don't get into trouble, but in this movie it is the other way. I also find the animated characters very charming: The witch who controls the bath house, No-Face, and all the others.

Wikipedia synopsis: "Ten-year-old Chihiro Ogino and her parents are traveling to their new home when her father takes a shortcut. They unknowingly enter a magical world that Chihiro's father insists on exploring. While Chihiro's parents begin to devour the food at an empty restaurant stall, Chihiro finds an exquisite bathhouse and meets a young boy named Haku who warns her to return across the river before sunset. However, Chihiro discovers too late that her parents have turned into pigs and she is unable to cross the flooded river, becoming trapped in the spirit world."